21 Sep 2022

Rooted in generations of family, Lynette Youson carries on a treasured tradition

We all have family traditions we want to pass on to the next generation because it keeps our family’s past alive. These traditions become storytellers and allow us to share our culture and beliefs. They help our children gain knowledge of their heritage; letting them live it, preserve it and enrich it. When you think back to your childhood, what memories do you cherish? For Lynette Youson, that is easy. Youson remembers being five years old and sitting for hours with her great-grandmother, learning the art of basket weaving.

21 Sep 2022

Lorianne Riggin: a lifelong steward of natural resources in SC

Now at the helm of the state’s program responsible for stewarding natural resources, Lorianne Riggin has been an advocate of natural resources and the great outdoors since sending a handwritten note to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in eighth grade.

21 Sep 2022

Successful emergency management? Kim Stenson points to planning and partnerships.

Kim Stenson leads the state division and has dedicated his entire career to enabling readiness. As SCEMD director, he and the division team have managed more than $2 billion in response operations, including unprecedented rainfall during October 2015; Hurricanes Matthew, Irma, Florence, and Dorian; and, most recently, the state’s expansion of medical care facilities at the onset of the covid-19 pandemic.

21 Sep 2022

As the SC Ports Authorities new CEO, Barbara Melvin has two goals: take care of her people, and keep the containers moving

Driven. Strategic. Others use these words to describe Barbara Melvin. The word she uses to describe herself: Tenacious. These words fit perfectly with Melvin’s new position as the CEO of South Carolina Ports Authority and the path she took to become the only female CEO of one of the nation’s top ten container ports.

21 Sep 2022

A life of public service, Jason Ward proudly serves those of Dorchester County

Jason Ward, who sits at the helm of the Dorchester County government as county administrator, has helped shape the area’s significant growth since assuming the role at an uncommonly young age: 31 years old. In his twenty-year tenure, Ward has helped nearly double the county’s population, consolidate public services and provide clean water to rural communities.

21 Sep 2022

Returning to his hometown, Harry Lightsey plans for the future of SC

Harry Lightsey has returned to his hometown of Columbia, S.C., with a wealth of knowledge and experience, which he hopes will benefit South Carolinians. Lightsey, a little over a year into his role as Secretary of Commerce for South Carolina, has worked at several fortune 500 companies, including General Motors and AT&T, and witnessed transformational changes in those industries over the last 40 years. Now in his new role, Lightsey plans to use that experience to bring the same transformational change to industries in our state.

21 Sep 2022

Dale Morris: Defining resiliency across the nation, and now in Charleston

What is coastal resiliency, and how do cities swiftly and effectively cultivate it? That is the leading question for Dale Morris, chief resilience officer for the City of Charleston, who has devoted nearly two decades to studying and shepherding groundbreaking flood risk management techniques for cities like New Orleans, Galveston, Houston, Norfolk, and other flood-prone communities across the globe.

21 Sep 2022

Pride, professionalism and fun: Amy Blizzard plans the future of Fort Jackson

Amy Blizzard brings a vast array of experience, education and a lifelong career in planning as the community planner at the Fort Jackson Army Garrison outside Columbia. At an Army base that trains over 50 percent of incoming recruits and over 60 percent of incoming female recruits, Blizzard could not be prouder of what she does.

21 Sep 2022

Ensuring the best for our nation’s veterans, David Omura leads the Columbia VA with advanced technology and care

Dr. David Omura leads the Columbia Veterans Affairs Healthcare System and the Williams Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center into the future, one patient at a time.